Kent State chooses Beverly J. Warren of VCU as next president

Warren, who will take office July 1, succeeds Lester Lefton, who has served as the university's president since July 2006.

CantonRep.com staff report

Beverly J. Warren, provost and senior vice president of Virginia Commonwealth University, will be Kent State University's new president.

Kent State University's board of trustees elected the university's 12th president Wednesday, according to a news release.

Warren, who will take office July 1, succeeds Lester Lefton, who has served as the university's president since July 2006.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, located in Richmond, Va., Warren has also worked as dean of the school of education and associate dean for academic affairs.

She has also been on the faculty at Lander University in Greenwood, S.C.; Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.; Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.; Smith College in Northampton, Mass.; and the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala., according to the news release.

Warren earned her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her master's degree from Southern Illinois University. She has two doctorates — one in higher education administration from the University of Alabama and one in exercise physiology from Auburn University.

Video of the press conference will be available here: www.kent.edu/president/presidentialsearch/announcement